The Keeper of the Celestial Legacy

As a young norn Jaood knew he was different. Knew he was special somehow. His friends spent their days playing with nature, communing with the Spirits of the Wild and learning to hunt. He spent his nights stargazing, looking out onto an unending ocean of the unknown, wandering the universe in his mind. Eventually curiosity would get the better of him, leaving his homestead one night in search of his true destiny. He was young - perhaps too young, but he was curious enough to make the journey alone.

The same night, after several hours of traveling, Jaood would encounter some other norn. The darkness of the night covered them entirely but he could just about make out their silouettes. He shouted to them - they seemed to move but didn't sound back. He shouted again "Hey! Over here!" - nothing, but he could see movement, the silouettes were growing larger, they were moving toward him. He lowered his voice a little and continued "I'm not from around here, can you help me fi....". His mouth quickly shut, the silouettes motioned into his vision - a blue aura seemed to surround the figures who came closer still. Jaood felt a sharp icy breeze float over him. He had learned about the Icebrood when he was a child in his homestead, but had never encountered one. There were three of them and one of him, he didn't like his chances, and worse still he wasn't confident in his combat abilities. Jaood turned to run, but halted immediately. A giant icy beast stood behind him, before he could react the beast landed a clubbing blow, knocking Jaood unconscious, sending him crashing to the ground.

When he woke, he saw blurry visions in front of him - he began to scream in panic. "Enough!" belowed one of the figures in front of him, "You are safe here, there is nothing to fear." Jaood stopped and rubbed the ice from his eye lashes. The voice he had heard was not norn, then what was it? "Do you know who we are?" they said to him. "We are the Jotun, Jaood, and we are here to guide you on the path you must take." Jaood quickly snapped "How do you know my name?!" One Jotun appeared to lead the rest, he stood firmly in the middle staring at Jaood - "It is your destiny, you were never meant for the Spirits of the Wild, you have an affinty with the universe, with the galaxy. You are an astral being Jaood - the first of your kind to walk Tyria in over 400 years. The Celestials have given you their gift." He continued - "I wish I could explain, but the Icebrood are fast approaching and you must leave before they come for you!" The Jotun quickly gave Jaood a scroll which appeared to glimmer and animate in his hands. "Take this scroll and fulfill your destiny Jaood. The celestials are counting on you." They rushed him out through what seemed to be a secret tunnel and shut the door. Over the peak Jaood could see the Icebrood approaching the Jotun camp. He turned and left the area, he needed to find somewhere safe to rest.

Jaood had been running from the Icebrood for weeks, only taking short breaks to rest and study the scroll - which was a map, before having to set off again. However, he eventually studied the map long enough to realize its meaning, Jaood had recognized where the map wanted him to go and knew it was his only hope - he set off immediately. After several days of traveling the Icebrood were still chasing him, but he was only moments away from the maps marker. The path seemed to go into a bottleneck, Jaood knew that if this doesn't work out for him, the Jotun won't be able to save him this time. This would be his end. He turned to look down the mountains below him - the Icebrood were flooding in the valleys and staggering up the slopes. He hesitated for a moment, then ran toward the marker. 'It must be here' he thought, he hoped, but the bottleneck got narrower and narrower until it came to a halt. It was a dead end. Jaood dropped to his knees.

Suddently the rock in front of him began to glow with symbols, it cracked apart and revealed a room within. It was more than a room, it was a temple. A statue of a Celestial dragon stood tall in the middle, and at the base of the statue there were three artifacts seemingly glowing with power. Jaood knew this was it, it was his destiny. He picked up the first artifact, the bright golden head of the celestial dragon, eyes glowing with intensity - it had a strap, which Jaood recognized as armor. He equipped it and felt a protective aura pulse around him. He heard the sound footfalls in the distance, the Icebrood were rapidly approaching. Jaood hurried on to the next piece. It was a mask shaped in the facet of a dragon. He placed it gently across his face and fastened it on the back. He opened his eyes - suddently Jaood could see everything, he could see clearly, he could see the truth. He dropped down to one knee and reached out for the last artifact. A crashing of rocks sounded off behind him, the Icebrood had made it to him and began to flood into the temple. Jaood spun his head for a brief moment to see the swarm of Icebrood charging at him and quickly focused his attention back on the artifact. It was a weapon. He placed his hand on the haft - a rush of power surged into him and back into the weapon. The stars lit up the weapon, it was an axe, Jaood knew - it was Astralaria. He lifted it in front of him and turned to face the hordes of Icebrood minions flocking into the temple. Jaood wasn't afraid anymore, armed with the truth, he cut down the Icebrood one by one until there were none left. Only him.

Jaood had learned the legacy of the celestial dragon. A dragon who once existed on Tyria and lived in peace with the other elder dragons, maintaining a balance of power across the universe. But the celestial dragon was betrayed by the other elder dragons and banished from this world, never to return.The elder dragons seek to cover the truth about the celestial dragon, but it had hid remnants of the past so that one day its legacy could be told. Jaood had become the keeper of the celestial legacy, and he would defend it with his life.